Minorities and Women in OSA

Meet this female fellow

Angela M. Guzman

Visiting Associate Research Professor, CREOL, The College of Optics & Photonics, University of Central Florida
OSA Member since: 1988
OSA Fellow since: 2007

Professional/Personal Highlights:

Angela M. Guzmán joined the Physics Department of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton in 2007. She is Professor Emeritus of Physics at the National University of Colombia, where she graduated as a physicist, obtained her M.Sc. degree in Physics, and worked for over 25 years. She obtained her Dr.Sc. degree from the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich for research conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching, Germany, and conducted post-doctoral research at the Optical Sciences Center of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona.

In 1988, as a young scientist, she was awarded the Colombian “Third World Academy of Science” Prize. In 1989 she was appointed Regular Associate Member of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy. She is the recipient of the 1992-93 “Sarwar Razmi” Prize of the ICTP. In 1998 she was elected a member of the Colombian Academy of Science and became Senior Associate of the ICTP. She is currently the chair of the Advisory Group for the Trieste System on Optical Sciences and Applications (TSOSA), which provides advice to the ICTP in the area of optics.

Professor Guzmán chaired the International Council of the Optical Society of America and served as a member of that Society’s Board of Directors during the period 2003-2004. From 2005 to 2008 she served as a Vice President of the International Commission for Optics (ICO) and as a Member of the ICO Bureau. In 2007 she was made Fellow of the Optical Society of America for her contributions to quantum and atom optics and for the promotion of optics in developing countries. Her recent research activities include high-dimensional quantum cryptography, the theory of physical realizations of quantum logic gates, and the study of interatomic forces in the presence of electromagnetic fields. In 2010, during the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Department of Physics of the National University of Colombia, she received an award as a distinguished alumna of the Department. She currently holds the elected position of Secretary General of the ICO.

What is your advice for balancing one's professional and personal life?

Look for a partner ready to share family responsibilities and to be respectful of your professional life. Do not wait too long to have children. Do not feel guilty for not being a 24-hour mom, and do not sacrifice your interests and professional opportunities for whatever is considered by others to be best for your family and children. Realize that in order to really give love to others you have to love yourself first, and that the best for your children includes having a mom that feels fulfilled both personally and professionally. Give quality time to your family and allow your children to grow responsible and independent, while you continue pursuing your own dreams.

Do you have suggestions for how female scientists support each other's career and development?

Any time we have the opportunity, we should give consideration to recommending female colleagues as possible committee members, as invited lecturers, and as candidates for distinctions. Help young females understand that some degree of self-promotion is not a bad thing. Share our own experiences and successes with them.